The following are firsthand accounts from two Christians who passed out Gospel tracts and preached at Chicago’s “Gay Pride” parade Sunday in the “Boystown” section of the city. I witnessed plenty of tolerance at the parade for all sorts of debauchery – such as one pink-haired (biologically male) transsexual who bared his (presumably female-hormone-induced) breasts as he rode block after block on atop a float (see photo above) — but little for a Biblical message against sin.

Sadly, some churches and synagogues marched in the “pride” parade, effectively blaspheming the Creator they purport to serve. The word for that is ’shame,’ not ‘pride.’

The first testimony below is from Americans For Truth volunteer Dan Musick, who did not street-preach but passed out several hundred tracts containing former homosexual Steve Bennett’s testimony, titled, “I WAS Gay.” (Tracts can be ordered through Steve’s ministry at [link to www.sbministries.org]

The second testimony is from Joe Christopherson, who met Dan while street preaching at the parade. Together, they encountered trouble after the parade had concluded and people were milling about in “Boystown.” We’ll have more firsthand reports on the Chicago and New York City “gay pride” parades in future posts. As you read this, imagine the liberal media’s outrage — all four major local Chicago TV stations fielded floats in the parade – and that of ”gay” activists had two homosexuals been assaulted and humiliated in the same manner. — Peter LaBarbera

_________________________

Dan Musick’s testimony:

I went to the parade armed with 500+ tracts and my camera. My prayer was for God to show me what He wanted me to do. Before the parade I passed out some tracts. At the parade I took lots of pictures and video, and passed out a few tracts. The sidewalk and area behind the barriers was packed.

After the parade there was a steady flow of crowd traffic so I started passing out the “I Was Gay” tracts. I did this for about an hour, and passed out about 300. Many ended up on the sidewalk.

I experienced every form of mockery you could imagine, but only from one or two at a time at the most. At one point two lesbians were circling me and warning others not to take my tracts. One tore up a tract and threw it at me. Another knocked the tracts out of my hand.

Overall the response was excellent. For every negative there had to be at least three positives — those who came up from behind me when I was turned a different direction to ask for a tract, and many who seemed desperate for some kind of hope as they took the tracts. I saw one or two people bend over to pick up the tracts off the sidewalk.

Several engaged me in serious conversation; there were several opportunities to lay out the gospel. Others just wanted to argue and prove I was wrong.

One man came up and asked what I was doing. I explained I was offering good news for homosexuals by the gospel of Christ and I laid out the gospel for him. I asked if he believed it. He said, “Yes,” and asked if he could join me. He said it was better for him to work with someone and that another person with whom he had teamed up with did not work out.

I stopped, removed my hat and we prayed together, acknowledging that God’s Word would never return void.

He proceeded to unroll a big banner and to strap it to a pole with bungee cords. It was a telescoping pole, and suddenly he lifted the banner up into the sky another 6 feet. It was huge.

He started preaching from a format I had learned called the ”Way of the Master,” a series with Ray Comfort. This stresses the importance of preaching Law before Grace ….

Joe’s approach was loving, clear and direct — a model presentation of the Gospel, beginning with the law and the reality that we have all sinned.

The mood of the place changed suddenly. First a small crowd gathered around us. Joe continued preaching and the crowd grew in size.

Then several things started happening all at once.

First, I remember a bright lady coming up to me and started telling me that what we were doing was wrong. Gays can’t help being who they are; that’s the way God made them; when you call their actions sin you are condemning them. She had the air of a Pharisee — I suspect in hindsight she was a pastor from one of the churches that defends homosexuality as good.

While talking to her, several things began to occur. First, I remember the most sinister laughter, mocking and jeering I have ever heard. The crowd despised Joe’s preaching. People from the crowd were yelling out at us and moving closer to us. Someone from a balcony up above us threw some kind of bottle — I think it was plastic - and hit Joe on his left shoulder. Another man came up and tried to light the banner with his cigarette lighter. While trying to do this someone sprayed beer on both of us and another man poured beer on Joe. At about this point it crossed my mind that we might just be casting our pearls before swine.

I also remembered one point when people were taking pictures of the humiliation they were trying to impose [on us]. One guy stuck up his middle finger in front of the banner and I held up the tract next to him so that would be in the picture as well.

Then one of the men got behind Joe and started to make sexual gestures like he wanted to have anal sex. Then He reached for Joe’s pants to try to take them off.

At this point I abandoned my conversation with the lady to pull the man away from Joe. It was at about that time that someone knocked the tracts out of my hand. Some one else tried to take the pole and banner away from Joe, and I told him to be strong.

At this point it turned into a wrestling match for the banner. The crowd had evolved into a mob. Several hands were grasping the pole supporting the banner. Then those who did not want us there began pulling the banner and us with it into a recessed area or an alley.

At this point I called 911 … I couldn’t remember where we were, just that we were just north of Belmont. Within a minute or so the police were there and shortly thereafter there were 20-40 police.

We got our banner back. I asked the police to defend our free speech rights. He said, “Let’s be practical. There are 400,000 of them and only a handful of us.” He said the banner was inflammatory and that the police could not control the crowd if Joe continued preaching. If he continued preaching he would have to arrest us. I think he was thinking of his duty to protect us.

I told Joe the police had a good point. I was willing to go to jail but I couldn’t see what would be gained by it. It was time to shake the dust off our sandals; they had not received our message. Joe couldn’t see anything to be gained, either, so we agreed to leave.

We thanked the senior officer for his help. I told him, “Sometimes God sends His angels to help us; sometimes He sends the police.” He chuckled, we shook hands, and we left on good terms.

The mob clearly ruled the police at this point; our free speech rights were trampled. But that was a peripheral issue for us at this time. Joe’s passion and concern, which he also expressed to the police, was that those who had mistreated him were going to hell; that was his motivation for wanting to continue preaching to a hostile mob. It was well past my time to reconnect with [other Americans For Truth volunteers] and I felt my time for evangelizing was finished. The thought of evangelizing to assert my free speech rights never occurred to me, and it is, at best, a twisted motive for evangelizing.

Joe and I walked a couple blocks until he had to go a different direction. I thanked him for letting me share in the experience we had there and I hugged him. Suffering together for the Gospel creates a bond that is not easily broken.

This is my story.

Dan Musick

__________________________

Joe Christopherson’s testimonyJune 24 2007:

I Was Attacked By a Homosexual Mob!

I went into Chicago today, to preach the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ at the gay pride parade. After finally finding a good place to park, I made my way down the parade route. The parade was done there but there were thousands of people in the streets.

I walked down the route and met up with and joined a brother [Dan Musick] passing out gospel tracts. I unfurled a fairly new 4-by-6 foot banner I have which says, “Lied, Stolen, Lusted? Homosexual, Fornicator, Drunkard? Repent and call on the Lord Jesus to Escape Hell” (at the bottom is the website: burningheartsoutreach.com). Then I started open-air preaching.

It must have been about 10 to 20 minutes, and a violent crowd formed around us. They were cursing at me like mad dogs. And before it was all over I was basically molested – they handled me in vile ways – trying to pull my pants off (thank God I wear a belt). They tried to burn my banner, steal my banner; my banner and I were soaked with various alcoholic drinks that were hurled at me. They spit and threw something. They bent and tried to steal my banner pole.

A bunch of police showed up and rescued us from the mob. I was assaulted by the crowd but the police threatened me with arrest if I did not leave. Absolutely incredible. It was like Sodom and Gomorrah. “They loved darkness and hated the light.” [John 3:19] I prayed that this sin be not laid to their charge.

Please pray that God will save these lost souls bound in perversion. Jesus is their only hope. I rejoice in the Lord that I was counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. [See Matthew 5:11-13] I only got a couple of scratches so I really didn’t suffer that much at all. Thank You Jesus for your divine protection. And this weekend [I will be preaching at] the “Taste of Chicago.” Thousands to preach to and a much, much less violent crowd; please pray for me and for souls to be won to Christ. Thank you.

The police knew it was going to happen and the police are not going to help the Christians because they want the parade to go forward unabated, so either take personal protection or find another way to protest the gayday

So called Christians who turn up at such parades are only doing so as an act of violence against large groups of people, and their intent is to incite hatred and violence. This type of incitement has resulted in many many direct acts of violence against lots of totally innocent people, all of whom have families just like everybody else. On this occasion so called Christians turning up at a Gay Pride event unfortunately proved too much for some who responded with aggression, in the same vein as the KKK turning up at a civil rights march.

Also - the intent of the original article in this thread was obviously to further falsely demonise and incite hate against gay people, most of whom are totally peaceful people; this is an act of violence in itself. Pathological haters who use God to justify their violence against large groups of people are a slur on all the real Christians out there.

what would you expect blacks to do if ignorant bible thumping christians showed up at a black pride parade professing that black skin was the mark of cain?

Quoting: Anonymous Coward 252372

how come we never hear about ignorant bible thumping christians showing up at divorce court or showing up at weddings when straight people are getting remarried when their exspouse(s) are still alive?

why aren't they standing in front of the condom displays at the pharmacy? people using them to prevent pregnancies and "spilling the seed".

remove the boulder from your eye before trying to remove the speck of dust from another's.

Quoting: Anonymous Coward 252372

This is hilarious, what did they expect? Handjobs probably..

Quoting: Anonymous Coward 140450

So called Christians who turn up at such parades are only doing so as an act of violence against large groups of people, and their intent is to incite hatred and violence. This type of incitement has resulted in many many direct acts of violence against lots of totally innocent people, all of whom have families just like everybody else. On this occasion so called Christians turning up at a Gay Pride event unfortunately proved too much for some who responded with aggression, in the same vein as the KKK turning up at a civil rights march.

Also - the intent of the original article in this thread was obviously to further falsely demonise and incite hate against gay people, most of whom are totally peaceful people; this is an act of violence in itself. Pathological haters who use God to justify their violence against large groups of people are a slur on all the real Christians out there.

Quoting: Anonymous Coward 259207

____________________________________________

The links provided in the original post lead to something called “Americans for Truth about Homosexuality” (AFTAH). From that Homepage, it’s obvious that AFTAH -- headed by one Peter LaBarbera -- has an agenda of the Christian religionist kind.

Really tolerant individuals don’t attempt to throw a counter-demonstration / counter-picket at the site of a parade organized by those with whom they disagree.

Ultimately, the qualities which the Christian religionists lack most are respect for the individuals with whose beliefs the Christian religionists disagree.

By the way, whilst I’m completelystraight, . . . I doubt very much if the Christian religionists would like me any better than they like those against whom they are picketing, as per the descriptions quoted by the OP in this thread.

Personally, NEITHER the Christian’s bible NOR their interpretations thereof are of the slightest relevance or interest to me.:X-No:

In their references to scriptures, they show us nothingmore than the implied dimensions of their own ideational “straight jacket.”

:dif-real:

They might consider disencumbering themselves of the ethnocentric notion that their own religionist views are some sort of universal paradigm shared by all humans.

Such an approach is not only self-righteous, but also xenophobic and ethnocentric in the extreme.:X-No:

:righticon: Their religionist approach -- which is far more Medieval than modern -- harkens back to the Malleus Maleficarum :

:kuebelboec: A centuries-old manual which, no doubt, hordes of semi-literate fundamentalist witch hunters would presently be only too happy to revive.

How strange it is that so many would embrace willingly the intellectual lobotomy which every fundamentalism entails :!:

Religionist fundamentalism is the antithesis of all that which is urbane and cosmopolitan and sophisticated.

Fundamentalism -- which may be seen by certain reactionaries as an “antidote” to modernity and progress and societal change -- is actually a “poison pill” inflicted upon (and sometimes swallowed thoughtlessly by) those who are incapable of coping with the realities of the 21st Century world.

In effect, every religionist fundamentalism is the “Ghost Dance” of a traumatized society.

Religionists -- who have never been prone to learn from experience -- seem blissfully unaware that in a massive and bloody field test during the late 19th Century, the original “Ghost Shirts” failed quite miserably when confronted by the empirical realities of life and death in the real world.

Fundamentalism cannot cope with the existential demands of the modern world, . . . precisely because the essence of fundamentalism is the denial of contemporary realities, . . . whether such realities entail sex or science or any or all other things secular.

Like soul-saving crusaders whose verbal swords stand poised to sever so much of humanity from the right to exist upon its own terms, . . . :th_Fight: . . . fundamentalist religionists denounce all that which differs from their own narrowly-defined norms and limited roles.

In the United States and elsewhere, many still await the return of the man who died but did not die, . . . the man who really was god, . . . and a god who was himself sacrificed to himself for others’ sins toward himself -- all of which propositions would seem to contain a sufficient modicum of the inconsistent and the improbable.

To the mind of the religionist “True Believers,” however, improbabilities and inconsistencies are of no importance.

Such “True Believers” are insulated by multiple layers of ethnocentric smugness and self-righteous blindness.

Religionists are distinguished from scientists by one great fact :

Unlike religionists, scientists realize that they might be wrong, . . . and that after rigorous testing against physical realities, hypotheses are subject to refinement and clarification vis-à-vis the realities of the empirical universe.

In the broad sense of comparative perspectives in cross-national and cross-cultural context, the Mysteriumtremendumetfascinosum of religion is a realm from which the fundamentalist “Right Thinker” is ultimately barred, both by the self-imposed limitations of his or her own authoritarian personality, and by the limiting relationships based up the limited roles which his or her fundamentalism imposes.

Fundamentalists of the religionist kind seek NOT comprehension of the self and of the world, . . . but rather group-confirmed (and conformed) fantasies : revelation, “charisma,” god-like projected parents, and the soul.

Philosophically as well as psychologically, the fundamentalist religionists are among those leastequipped to deal with the complexities of 21st Century realities.

In terms of day-to-day functionality, the fundamentalist religionist arguments and belief systems are largely limited to variations along TWO (2) major themes :

:righticon: “Let Time’s Arrow Reverse Its Flight;” . . . and . . .

:righticon: “Let Onerous Acuality Be Undone.”

Given the existential impossibility of either theme, I leave fundamentalist religionist rhetoric to those whose mentalities permit them to indulge nonsensical proclivities.

Inasmuch as my own patience is NOT so generous in such matters, requirements of diplomacy wear thin.

Rather quickly, I grow weary of the fundamentalist religionists who shout, “LooktoJesus !,” . . . and who do so with the One-Size-Fits-All mentality of a snake oil salesman who is hawking his $20 bottles of some “Miracle Cure” elixir.

:NObanner: The oratory seems always suggestive of a bible-beater yelling up “Revival” at some river-crossing camp meeting of a previous century.

In such contexts, I am told :

“Theywanttosaveyou, dude !!!! Hallllllllllllellllllllujah !!!!!”

Perhaps, in the interests of diplomacy, I could manage a polite (albeit a forced) smile.

But then the next sentence seems to be :

“HaveyoubeenbornAGAIN ?”

To which utterances, I sometimes reply :

“Noneed. MybirthwasdonerighttheFIRSTtime.”

Many fundamentalist religionists seem to forget that remedial repetitions are required only in the cases of those for whom the original regimen failed.

Yet in their typically arrogant, strutting self-righteousness, the religious fundamentalists presume that no one can knowingly reject their belief system. Hence, they act upon the assumption that I must be unaware of the “goodnews” [SIC] regarding their fundamentalist religionist “plan of salvation” [SIC].

Having previously experienced their multiple efforts to inflict their “good news” upon me, . . . I can only regard such things as rather oldnews.

Like the grating sound of a record stuck in the groove, . . . fundamentalist repetitions of their religionist rhetoric are only abrasive and offensive.

Perhaps the fundamentalist religionists are simply unable to grasp an obvious fact :

Give enough mindless re-runs, even an appealing story line loses its magic; . . . and the captive audience members are then overwhelmed by their desire to escape the presence of their religionist captors / tormentors. :NObanner:

~ Campbell Randt :WhoDares:

____________________________________________

'What’s past is never past.Just residue in the glass.'_________________________________

'I am NOT a number. I am a free man. . . . My life is my own. . . . I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered.'_________________________________

In the ‘Update Your Information’ section, MY ‘Country’ is NOT on the available list of selections. That is because I have NONE.

Perhaps ‘Countries’ -- like ‘Friends’ and ‘Home’ and ‘Family’ and ‘Community’ -- are only another in a long list of FICTIONS._________________________________

Well since they act like animals in the closet, it shouldn't surprise anyone now that they will act like animals in public. You know cause they have all this pride now.

I am not a religious type, just an average joe, it is disgusting, they are mentally ill, and normal people find them and their bullshit "lifestyle" to be sick and deviant.

Quoting: Anonymous Coward 232327

Not too mention the fact that when they have their parades etc. they never maintain and keep their bedside manners where it belongs. Pathetic!!! How many NORMAL PEOPLE parades do you see people going topless, walking their mates on leashes like a dog etc? You have to be careful where you go now or you are stuck explaining to your children why some estrogen based hormonally fucked up hairy breasted halfman freak of nature has tits and is topless in front of everyone. It is only at these fag fests that you see that kinda decadent crap. What a pathetic disgraceful lot. You can't even take your kid into the parks anymore because of these fags shitpounding each other in the bushes at night. You never know what they will find. Drugs and stuff like that is being found out there let alone all of their other nasty stuff. Decadent Bastards! Here's to ya freaks>>>

So called Christians who turn up at such parades are only doing so as an act of violence against large groups of people, and their intent is to incite hatred and violence. This type of incitement has resulted in many many direct acts of violence against lots of totally innocent people, all of whom have families just like everybody else. On this occasion so called Christians turning up at a Gay Pride event unfortunately proved too much for some who responded with aggression, in the same vein as the KKK turning up at a civil rights march.

Also - the intent of the original article in this thread was obviously to further falsely demonise and incite hate against gay people, most of whom are totally peaceful people; this is an act of violence in itself. Pathological haters who use God to justify their violence against large groups of people are a slur on all the real Christians out there.

Quoting: Anonymous Coward 259207

You are so full of shit it is mindboggling. Well, now that I think about it, maybe not as you obviously have some one pushing back up there for you.

Well since they act like animals in the closet, it shouldn't surprise anyone now that they will act like animals in public. You know cause they have all this pride now.

I am not a religious type, just an average joe, it is disgusting, they are mentally ill, and normal people find them and their bullshit "lifestyle" to be sick and deviant.

Not too mention the fact that when they have their parades etc. they never maintain and keep their bedside manners where it belongs. Pathetic!!! How many NORMAL PEOPLE parades do you see people going topless, walking their mates on leashes like a dog etc? You have to be careful where you go now or you are stuck explaining to your children why some estrogen based hormonally fucked up hairy breasted halfman freak of nature has tits and is topless in front of everyone. It is only at these fag fests that you see that kinda decadent crap. What a pathetic disgraceful lot. You can't even take your kid into the parks anymore because of these fags shitpounding each other in the bushes at night. You never know what they will find. Drugs and stuff like that is being found out there let alone all of their other nasty stuff. Decadent Bastards! Here's to ya freaks>>>

So called Christians who turn up at such parades are only doing so as an act of violence against large groups of people, and their intent is to incite hatred and violence. This type of incitement has resulted in many many direct acts of violence against lots of totally innocent people, all of whom have families just like everybody else. On this occasion so called Christians turning up at a Gay Pride event unfortunately proved too much for some who responded with aggression, in the same vein as the KKK turning up at a civil rights march.

Also - the intent of the original article in this thread was obviously to further falsely demonise and incite hate against gay people, most of whom are totally peaceful people; this is an act of violence in itself. Pathological haters who use God to justify their violence against large groups of people are a slur on all the real Christians out there.

Quoting: Anonymous Coward 259207

The thing I find amazing is that you are condemning people, saying they are stirring up violence etc for exercising the same rights, in the same way that the gay and lesbian community did.

Now that the gay and lesbian community has gotten rights, they now seek to take everyone else's rights away. How ironic???

Well since they act like animals in the closet, it shouldn't surprise anyone now that they will act like animals in public. You know cause they have all this pride now.

I am not a religious type, just an average joe, it is disgusting, they are mentally ill, and normal people find them and their bullshit "lifestyle" to be sick and deviant.

Not too mention the fact that when they have their parades etc. they never maintain and keep their bedside manners where it belongs. Pathetic!!! How many NORMAL PEOPLE parades do you see people going topless, walking their mates on leashes like a dog etc? You have to be careful where you go now or you are stuck explaining to your children why some estrogen based hormonally fucked up hairy breasted halfman freak of nature has tits and is topless in front of everyone. It is only at these fag fests that you see that kinda decadent crap. What a pathetic disgraceful lot. You can't even take your kid into the parks anymore because of these fags shitpounding each other in the bushes at night. You never know what they will find. Drugs and stuff like that is being found out there let alone all of their other nasty stuff. Decadent Bastards! Here's to ya freaks>>>

Quoting: Anonymous Coward 231946

ever been to a straight strip club?

ever been down to the river where straight people go to "watch the submarine races"?

The thing I find amazing is that you are condemning people, saying they are stirring up violence etc for exercising the same rights, in the same way that the gay and lesbian community did.

Now that the gay and lesbian community has gotten rights, they now seek to take everyone else's rights away. How ironic???

Quoting: Anonymous Coward 231946

____________________________

:NObanner:

Here's the difference :

The Christian religionists -- as described in the Original Post with which this thread began -- are attempting to invalidate the existence and the self-concept of the marchers. In essence, the religionists are pushing Jesus as a "CURE" [SIC] for the life styles and the sexual orientations of the marchers.

On the other hand, the marchers are NOT attempting to force feed religion to their Christian religionist antagonists. NOR are the marchers attempting to alter the sexual orientations of the religionists.

Although I’m NOT gay, . . . and although allmyownfornicating is done exclusivelywith members of the oppositesex, . . . I still find the Christian religionists’ behaviours to be highly offensive.

Most offensive of all is the religionists’ typicallyarrogant, strutting, holier-than-thouself-righteousness.

~ Campbell Randt :WhoDares:

____________________________

'What’s past is never past.Just residue in the glass.'_________________________________

'I am NOT a number. I am a free man. . . . My life is my own. . . . I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered.'_________________________________

In the ‘Update Your Information’ section, MY ‘Country’ is NOT on the available list of selections. That is because I have NONE.

Perhaps ‘Countries’ -- like ‘Friends’ and ‘Home’ and ‘Family’ and ‘Community’ -- are only another in a long list of FICTIONS._________________________________

pity there weren't more bible thumpers there to break some heads -- with it all on tape, to prove that it was self-defense. i honestly wouldn't mind if they used lethal force to defend themselves, people that have no respect for the rights of others are people we can do without

not because i support their position, it just makes me sick to see their rights being infringed.